New General
by Latergatr
Summary: Complete! A new general takes over one of the other commands at Cheyenne Mountain, and gets an introduction to Deep Space Radar Telemetry. Sam gets some sorely needed mentoring. Please R & R
1. Chapter 1

**New General**

By Latergatr

Spoilers: Season 8

Warnings: Language

Disclaimer: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.

A motion in her peripheral vision caused Major General Kate Lippert, US Army, to look up from the report she was reading, to see Admiral Harold Garner walk into her new office. Kate had just moved to her new command, head of the NORAD command and control center, and was going through summarized reports of the week's activities of the various other commands at Cheyenne Mountain, as well as those of her own command.

"Sir," she said as she rose, "I wasn't expecting to see you until this afternoon."

"Actually, I'm here to be your escort, Kate," he replied, stopping just inside her door. "You have an appointment to see Jack O'Neill in the Deep Space Radar facility in 15, and I'm going to see you to his office."

She looked at her commander, puzzled. Admiral Garner, a four-star, was the senior flag officer of the various commands housed at Cheyenne, which included both NORAD and NORTHCOM. And _he_ was going to be _her_ escort? Surely her EA would handle that mundane task. It still irked her somewhat that she, a two-star flag officer, was expected to go to the Brigadier General's office for their initial meeting, rather than he extending the expected courtesy to come here to greet her. A West Point grad (in fact, a graduate of one of the first classes to admit women), she was military through and through, especially when it came to protocol. What's more the man had even failed to attend the flag officers' reception held in her honor when she first arrived at her new assignment, sending last minute regrets, another breech of military etiquette. Couldn't even spare two minutes for introduction? She meant to comment to him at this meeting today. All she knew of O'Neill was what was contained in his official Air Force bio, and that he had been promoted to his position, Commander of the Deep Space Radar facility a little less than a year ago, after having been 2IC for 7 years.

But now, here stood her CO to "escort" her to O'Neill. Curious, she moved around her desk to the Admiral's side. "I suppose we can't keep the man waiting. And I'm honored, sir, but it really isn't necessary for you to accompany me."

Garner smiled broadly, and turned to leave, Lippert following.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

Down a hallway, and then down an elevator, they moved toward the lowest levels of the mountain, where O'Neill's Deep Space Radar Telemetry project was housed. Strangely, she had not yet been shown this particular part of the Mountain, even though she had gotten "The Tour" when she first arrived. To her, it seemed another slight, or at minimum a glaring oversight. The elevator stopped, and the two officers exited to a large room, where there was a guard post. The SF's on duty saluted them, and the Admiral signed in, motioning Kate to do the same.

"You have a package for me, Sergeant?" Garner asked the NCO on duty.

"Yes, sir," he pulled out a manila envelope, marked with classification stamps, and handed it to the Admiral. Garner turned again to Kate, and led her to another elevator and they proceeded down again.

"Before we meet Jack, I want to let you know a couple of things, Kate. First, this is not a joke - no trick on the newbie - which is part of why I'm coming along. Approval for you to have access to this facility comes from the Joint Chiefs. You are authorized for an overview only, and will not be briefed on its day-to-day missions. In fact, your need to know is only because of your command's proximity to the project. In fact, for the first few years of the project, even I didn't have clearance to know about what was going on down here. But, as we discovered, when there's a problem below, there is sometimes a problem above, and that necessitated allowing all commanders in the mountain to have clearance."

He looked at her puzzled face with a smile, paused, and his expression became serious. "And there have been problems," he said ominously. "I want you to know, I understand that you may be a little miffed in the breach of usual protocol - you may have some questions about why Jack did not come up to brief you, rather than vice-versa, but you will see that this installation has the highest security classification in the country, and information cannot be discussed in the NORAD spaces - only within the confines of the SGC itself."

"SGC?"

"And as for Jack O'Neill," he continued, ignoring her question, "let's just say, that if and when this program ever goes public, he will be one of the greatest heroes this country, our world, has ever known. You and I will be bragging to our grandchildren that we knew him, and his people, especially those of SG-1," he handed her the envelope. "This is the classified version of Jack's bio. You'll have a chance to read it while you're here. Before you leave, please leave it with Dr. Jackson, whom you'll meet later."

Garner paused for a moment, taking a breath before continuing, "Kate, I respect the hell out of Jack O'Neill, and so will you when you get to know him."

Kate looked at him with amazement. What is going on here? The elevator was coming to a stop now.

"Well!" Garner exclaimed, rubbing his hands together, a smile broadening across his face, "as Jack likes to say, 'We're not in Kansas anymore.'"

The door slid open, and there in the hall stood Air Force Brigadier General Jack O'Neill, unfolding his arms from across his chest, calling the SF's with him to come to attention. Garner quickly stepped out of the elevator, moving forward to shake hands, clapping Jack on the shoulder.

"Jack, how are you? May I introduce Major General Kate Lippert, Commander of NORAD Command and Control Center?"

O'Neill shook his hand and turned to Kate. "Sir, Ma'am, welcome to Stargate Command."

"Stargate Command?" she asked, shaking his hand.

O'Neill's mouth quirked up into a crooked grin. "For the past 8 years, it has been the mission of this command to explore other planets by means of an alien transportation device called the Stargate. My command is a front-line exploration and, when need be, combat unit, made up of a mix of scientists, Special Forces, linguists, and other specialty personnel. We are a joint military and civilians force."

"And Jack was the first man through the Stargate," Garner injected.

"Well, not exactly," O'Neill replied, cocking his head to the side.

Kate was staring at him, open-mouthed. Despite Garner's assurances, surely this WAS a joke on the newbie. She turned to Garner with a sharply questioning gaze, and he broke out laughing, slapping Jack on the back.

"I bet this just never gets old, does it, Jack?"

"No, sir, it doesn't," he smiled. "I think we should adjourn to my office, where you can sit down, Ma'am, to be briefed."

Garner moved back toward the elevator, still laughing. "Sorry, I have to get back to my office. I just had to see the look on your face." Kate stiffened as he moved past her and whispered "Decorum, Kate, decorum, you look a little pale."

O'Neill and Lippert remained in the hall, Lippert still unmoving, as Garner chuckled while getting into the elevator. As the doors closed, O'Neill turned more serious and offered, "Sorry, Ma'am, there's just no easy way to break it."

Then he turned, motioning down the hallway, "Let's just take a walk out to see the ol' Gate, and then we'll have a chat in my office, shall we?"

Kate shook her head, still having trouble believing what she had just heard, and walked with him. "Please, lead on. And it's Kate."

"Kate, and I'm Jack."

They moved on down a long corridor that ended at blast doors. O'Neill swiped his pass card, and the doors opened up into a cavernous room. To the side, towering over them, was a huge metallic ring, covered with odd symbols. A metal ramp led up to the gate. There were equipment banks along the walls, as well as ordinance, some heavy ordinance, with SF's guarding the room.

"This, Kate, is the Stargate. The device was uncovered in Egypt in the 1940's. It was stored away and forgotten for a couple of decades. A team of scientists then worked on the project for many years before it was activated a few years ago."

He paused and let her take in the sight, her eyes wide in awe. Yes, even just standing there, it is impressive. Wait till you see it in action, Jack thought as he smiled to himself.

"Please, come up to my office, and I'll fill you in on our mission."

They sat in Jack's office for a few minutes, while he gave her a brief overview. After that, he handed her a file folder, saying, "This contains a brief history of the Stargate, explains some of the technology we use, some of the people we've met, both allies and enemies," he trailed off, his eyes going down to his desk. She opened the folder, leafing through it briefly as he continued.

"I'll give you some time to read it, but of course, that folder must remain here. Now, I'd like to give you the nickel tour, and introduce you to some of the personnel who make this place happen."

They moved out to the briefing room, where three people awaited them.

"General Lippert, may I introduce you to SG-1, our flagship exploration team. This is Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, astrophysicist and commander of SG-1, Dr. Daniel Jackson, archeologist and linguist, the man who deciphered the glyphs on the Stargate enabling us to dial the first planet we visited, and Teal'c, Jaffa warrior and ally from the planet Chulak. "

At this last, Kate turned to O'Neill with a startled look.

"It's in the folder," he said softly. Just as they sat at the briefing room table, sirens began sounding and a strobe light began flashing. At that moment, a man came dashing up the stairs, and addressed O'Neill.

"Sir, we have a problem. Could you please come to the control room?"

O'Neill quickly excused himself, saying he would catch back up with them later. SG-1 rose to follow, but O'Neill waved them down. "Continue General Lippert's briefing. I'll let you know if I need any of you. Kate, I leave you in SG-1's capable hands."

Kate watched him leave, her brow creasing in concern.

"Ma'am," Carter began, "I know this is all a bit shocking, and you must have a lot of questions "

"I'll say!"

"Perhaps if you took a few minutes to read the folder, and we can explain and take a tour."

Kate sat at the briefing room table and hurriedly read through the documents she had been given, both the history of the SGC, and O'Neill's bio that Admiral Garner had supplied. As she read, she took in the worried glances of SG-1, who kept looking toward the stairway, and toward what would have been a window, if not for the metal plate that had slid across it. Finally, she closed the files, gave a low whistle and exclaimed, "This is just unbelievable!"

"We get that a lot," Daniel smiled. "Now, if you'll come with us, General, we'll take our tour."

Kate felt like a wide-eyed child, as she followed Jackson and Carter through the rear door of the briefing room into the halls of Stargate Command. She noted that they moved away from the gate's direction. "Perhaps you'd like to see our labs," Jackson suggested.

At that moment, a loud call came over the speaker just over their heads, "SG-1 to the Gate room!"

All of them stopped in their tracks, abruptly turned and raced back in the direction they had come. Colonel Carter took Kate by the elbow and said quickly, "If you could please wait in the briefing room, ma'am, I'm sure we'll be right with you."

Kate slowed to a halt in the briefing room, as SG-1 charged past her. Colonel Carter shouted to an SF who was clambering up the steps in the opposite direction, "Stay with the General!" and then they were gone, leaving her with the SF.

"What's going on Sergeant?" she demanded.

The man swallowed hard and replied, "Don't worry, Ma'am. Just the usual."

"Well, Sergeant, after what I just read, I'm not going to just stand here. Hand me a weapon."

The SF drew his sidearm and offered it to her. "Yes, ma'am, as long as we remain here as General O'Neill ordered."

Lippert considered pointing out that she outranked the other general, but thought the better of it. This was his area of expertise, not hers, and she had no idea what situation might be underway in the room just below. Fortunately, she didn't have long to wonder, because a couple minutes later, O'Neill returned to the briefing room. "Sorry, Kate, for the interruption, but we're going to have to cut this short today," spying the 9M in her hand, he smiled. "Can't give you the skinny right now, but, you won't be needing that now, and I'll make sure you get to read it in the next briefing."

"Uh, huh, the short version," and she hazarded a smile, offering the weapon back to the SF.

"Ye-es," he drew out his response.

Yes, this was going to be an interesting assignment, she decided, much more interesting than she had thought.

Later, Kate entered Admiral Garner's office. "I don't know what to say, Hal. Don't know if I rather would have not known, or demand to know more detail."

"Um, I've thought as much myself," he smiled. "Our weekly briefing takes place Mondays, 1300. The other flags meet me here in the office, and then, unless he's otherwise occupied, we all accompany Jack to visit the SGC for his brief."

"Yes, sir. Look forward to it. I think."


	2. Chapter 2

New General

Chapter 2 Bonding

Disclaimer: Stargate is owned by MGM and some other big companies. This story was written for entertainment only, and I received no money for writing it. No infringement intended on their trademarks.

Kate Lippert leaned forward in her chair and took the folder offered to her from the Lieutenant Colonel standing in front of her. "Please have a seat, Colonel Carter; I'll just take a moment."

Due to time constraints and activities going on both in the SGC and the other commands in Cheyenne Mountain, a new means of briefing had been devised for flag officers who had been unable to attend the weekly meeting, or when the SGC had been too busy to hold it. A report was written, and hand-carried from one flag officer to another by one of the senior officers from the SGC. Even with that precaution, the report was written as carefully as possible to avoid any uncleared person to be unable to understand its contents. Since they usually got the "overview only" version, the briefings were never as detailed as Kate would have liked, at any rate.

She smiled to herself as she read. "No Aggressor activity reported this week. Survey teams have visited 3 locations, no Intel of significance reported. Technology update reported up chain of command..." Of course the "survey teams" were SG teams, the Aggressors the Goa'uld... She wondered what the average person, happening to read this, would think. It was pretty humorous as it was, if only the subject matter weren't so serious.

As she read, Kate surreptitiously regarded Carter, seated somewhat nervously before her. She was glad Carter had drawn this duty today. She had heard much about this brilliant young scientist, and wanted to get to know her. This seemed as good an opportunity as any. She laid the report on the desk and looked up.

"So, Colonel Carter, how did you manage to pull this auspicious assignment today?"

Carter smiled, somewhat embarrassed. "Well, Ma'am, a lot of teams are away right now, and Colonel Rondel is TDY, and," she paused and gave a little shrug, "actually, I made a bet with General O'Neill and won. I think this is a little revenge." She smiled another shaky little smile.

Kate threw her head back and laughed. "Yes, rank does have its privileges. Didn't anybody ever tell you to always let a superior officer win?"

"General O'Neill and I have served together too long for me to be able to pull that off without him knowing."

"But he knows you're a lot smarter than he."

"Don't let him fool you, Ma'am. He's a lot smarter than he pretends to be. He just uses his intellect in a different way. A tactical genius, in my opinion."

"Really? I can't say that totally surprises me, from what I've read" she waived at the folder.

Kate followed Sam's eyes to a picture on her desk. It was a photo of Kate, her husband and children, taken at her last promotion ceremony.

"Your family, Ma'am?" Carter asked, motioning toward the photo.

"Yes, Matt and I have been married 18 years now. Our daughter is a sophomore in high school, and our son is in middle school."

"Wow. How do you manage?" Sam blurted out. Then, as though realizing oops, she WAS speaking to a two-star general, continued with some embarrassment, "I mean, it's something I've been thinking a lot about lately - dealing with marriage and family as well as an Air Force career."

Kate smiled thoughtfully at the junior officer before her. "We work it out. Matt was also in the Army when we first met and were married. You have to be prepared for a lot of separations, of course, and when children come along, that aspect gets harder. It takes a strong commitment," she sighed. "I remember as a Lieutenant, having to counsel a young EW. She was getting married - for the third time. Three duty stations, three different husbands."

"So, your husband resigned to stay with you?" Sam ventured.

"No, he stayed in until retirement. He is a lawyer, and since those slots are needed everywhere, it enabled us to stay together more than most. Although the worst was when we were stationed in different places in Saudi during Desert Storm, separated from each other and from our children. Fortunately, I have a sister who took care of the children here in the US during our deployment. Then, once Matt made colonel, well, there aren't many general officer slots for lawyers. So it made sense that he had gone as far as he could career-wise, and a couple years after that he retired. And my career was going really well, so I've stayed active duty." Kate paused for a moment. "And you've not married? Engaged?"

"No, but, well, actually, I've been engaged twice. I, uh, just broke off the last one. I just don't know... I want a family, but it just doesn't seem fair..."

"Another officer? Chain of command issues?" Kate guessed. Carter's gaze wandered away, as if not sure how to respond, so Kate just continued on.

"You know, years ago, it was just a matter of asking one's superior officer for permission to date another officer, and with that given, it was fine. Then came Tail Hook and some of the other sexual harassment scandals, and it got more difficult. There's always re-assignment, hopefully to something nearby. Or, I knew some officers who went into the reserves, kept their same job as civilians or as reserve officers, but were rated by their commander at their reserve unit, thereby being taken out of the chain of command. Then there were people who resigned or retired."

"Oh," Carter replied, then hesitatingly continued, "But my fiancé was not in the service."

"Well," Kate replied. "Then communication problems perhaps? Keeping secrets from each other in a marriage or close relationship isn't the best, is it? Or him wanting to settle down, when you know you could be reassigned elsewhere tomorrow."

Carter smiled nervously. "Something like that."

Kate considered for a moment. "Yes. You know, I've always believed in instances like that, when neither person can give up a career path for the other, it's just not meant to be. I mean, if your respective careers are more important than your relationship, what kind of a marriage is that? If either Matt or I had said to the other 'Give it up, we need to be together,' one of us would have resigned in a heartbeat. It was our commitment to each other - to put our marriage before our careers. And things just worked themselves out over the years."

Carter was looking down again, uncomfortably.

"Look, I didn't mean to lecture you. Just some thoughts, one service woman to another."

"Yes, Ma'am," Sam looked up.

"Well, I should let you get on to your next stop," Kate initialed the report and handed it back to her. "I hope to see you again soon. And Colonel? If you ever do need some advice, my door is always open."

"Thanks, Ma'am," Carter stood, and moved the document into her left hand, saluted Kate with her right, turned, and left.

Kate watched her go. She could remember being at that point in her life, wondering if she could marry and still have a career in the military. She remembered spending Christmases away from home, sometimes overseas. Missing holidays, birthdays...it was just part of the job. Not everyone, not every family was strong enough to endure that life. But it was her calling, her life, as it was with Matt. She hoped the young woman would find her path.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: We get a ring-side seat to the planning of the defense of Atlantis, through the eyes of General Kate. Just didn't get to see enough of Jack O'Neill as a general. 

WARNING: I have raised the rating level of this story due to some comments by General Kate that may be offensive. They _are _planning a war.

Council of War

By Latergatr

Her eyes firmly fixed on the annoying computer monitor on her desk, Kate Lippert was distracted by a movement that caught the corner of her eye. _Thank God_, she thought, but her relief was short-lived when she looked up to see her EA, Captain Steve Washington, rush into her office, a panicked look on his face - and this man never panicked.

"Ma'am!" he gasped, "Admiral Garner is on his way -" but he was cut off as Admiral Garner himself burst through the door into her office. Looking past him, Kate could see his deputy, Lt Gen Metcalf, stopping short in the reception area.

"Kate! Come with us. We're needed on Level 27 immediately!"

Kate rose swiftly, following Garner as he spun and hurried out the door. She called to Washington, "Cancel the rest of my appointments!" as they rushed out the door.

"What's going on?" she asked, catching up with Metcalf as they hurried toward the elevator.

"Don't know yet. Boss hasn't said. Just grabbed me and rushed out."

Admiral Garner was silent, but clearly agitated, as they made it to the elevator, where a young SF was holding the door for them, with the elevator car at the ready. They rode down to the sign-in point at the SGC's highest level, where they were met by two more flags from other commands housed in Cheyenne Mountain. The Admiral instructed an SF officer there to sign them all in, and proceeded to the second elevator, where yet another SF was waiting, holding that door. Finally in a cleared space, Garner filled them in quickly.

"The SGC has at long last received coms from the Atlantis expedition. They're in trouble - expecting an invading force of hostile aliens - and are in the process of evacuating. After reviewing the reports Dr. Weir sent, the Joint Chiefs have decided the technology in Atlantis is too valuable to lose. We've been ordered by the Chairman to go assist Jack O'Neill in planning the defense of Atlantis."

Kate's heart hammered; she could feel the adrenalin flowing. How do you wage war against an enemy you know nothing about? An enemy with technology most likely vastly superior to your own?

The elevator doors slid open, and another junior officer met them. "This way sirs, ma'am." They hurried to the SGC briefing room.

There was Jack O'Neill, surrounded by his colonels, the team leaders, and senior officers. Dr. Jackson she recognized, as well as Lieutenant Colonel Carter, Colonels Reynolds and Dixon, and a few of the civilian scientists who had participated in their weekly briefings over the last few weeks. Plans were spread over the table, and the LCD wall screen also had schematics displayed. The crowd in the room grew to overburdened proportions as she and the other flag officers arrived.

O'Neill only glanced up briefly at their entrance, turning his attention back to the document laden table. He was all business as he spoke. "Gentlemen, Ma'am, you're here at the insistence of the Joint Chiefs, not by my invitation. We don't have a lot of time here, so I'd appreciate it if you'd just kept that in mind," he said curtly.

"General O'Neill!" Garner barked. "We are here to render our advice and assistance. Every one of us has experience here to share."

O'Neill looked up and stared at him. "I'm sorry, sir; exactly how many times have you planned a defense against an highly advanced alien enemy? This one is so advanced technologically that they sent the Ancients packing a million years ago!"

The room went totally silent, Kate saw Garner wince. _The infamous O'Neill sarcasm strikes again_, she thought, _He's in trouble again_. Kate's eyes darted around the room to gauge the reactions of O'Neill's subordinates. To her surprise, she saw neither surprise nor shock in their eyes. She read only determination and support there.

Garner unexpectedly backed off, motioning to O'Neill.

"It's your show, Jack."

Jack acquiesced. "I'm sorry sir; didn't mean to be snippy. Daniel! Carter!" He called to the other side of the briefing room, where the pair had their faces practically touching the computer screen, deep in concentration. Jackson actually jumped at Jack's call, so intent was he. "Brief our visitors - let them know our status."

Doctor Jackson rose to his feet and moved to the corner of the room where Kate and the others still stood together. Carter quickly entered something else into the computer, and then followed.

"Well, ah, here's where we are so far," Daniel began, "Atlantis is about to come under attack by an alien race called the Wraith. They're sort of a vampire race - they feed on humans. As you've heard," he gestured back toward Jack, "they're also very highly technologically advanced. They have huge spacecraft, called hive ships, where thousands of them live. They also use smaller attack vessels, called darts. They have a type of beaming technology that they use to beam their human victims aboard the darts.

"Now, Atlantis has intelligence that three of these hive ships are on there way. The city has shields which could protect them, but not enough power to use them. They have some weaponry, but not nearly enough to fight off a hive ship. Among the weapons found on Atlantis is a chair device like we, uh, Jack, used in Antarctica.

"Dr. Weir, who is in charge of the Atlantis expedition, has decided that in order to protect her people, it's best to avoid an armed conflict that they could not possibly win. Therefore, she has ordered an evacuation of the city, planning to destroy it before the Wraith arrive."

"Excuse me, Dr. Jackson," Kate interrupted, but have there been casualties already fighting against the Wraith? How many military personnel do we have there?"

"Yes, General, there have been casualties. We also know that the military commander, Colonel Sumner, was killed very early on, and military command has been assumed by Major Sheppard ever since."

"A Major?" asked Garner. "What is his background?"

"He's a pilot."

"A pilot! And he's in charge of planning the defense of the city?"

"No wonder they're evacuating," murmured Kate under her breath.

"I heard that," Metcalf, an Air Force pilot, returned.

Kate had been watching O'Neill while they had been getting their brief, conferring with his colonels. They were talking softly, O'Neill sometimes gesticulating at the papers before him, or turning to the video on the screen to point something out. But at Daniel's last comment, and possibly hearing Kate's comment, he straightened, and said loudly, "And he's been doing an excellent job of it so far. He's due a promotion!"

Kate looked chagrinned. "To where are they evacuating?" she asked.

"They're not. We're going to go in and help them - our orders are to defend Atlantis at all costs, and that's what we're going to do."

Kate and the other officers looked at each other. "At all costs" meant just what it sounded like.

"What have you planned, Jack?" Garner asked.

"We're going to send Daedalus to their defense. They need a ZPM to operate the shields; and fortunately, we have one to send. We're also going to send additional Naquadah generators, which will help power the rest of the city and its weapons. However, it will take Daedalus three days to get there, and that could be too late unless we find a way to slow them down.

"With that in mind, we're going to open a wormhole to Atlantis, send reinforcements, and an experienced commander. Also heavier ordinance, advanced weaponry, including the rail guns we use on Prometheus, additional ammo, the generators, and other supplies. Remember, we have acquired new technology now that those on Atlantis don't know about. Right now we're hashing out ways to stop these hive ships, or at least slow them down, while they're still out in space, to give Daedalus time to get there."

"Why don't you just send the ZPM through the wormhole?" asked General Metcalf.

"Because we only have this one at full power, and it is needed to form that wormhole to Atlantis and keep it open."

"If we only have one, can we spare it to go to Atlantis? What if we need it here?"

"The Goa'uld threat has been all but eliminated. What's left of them wouldn't know that we couldn't use the Antarctic chair weapon, so they'll stay away. And we do still have Prometheus here."

"And who are you planning to send to be the commander of this expedition?"

"Me," Jack replied coldly.

Garner snorted. "Yeah, that balloon will fly."

"It better, and it makes sense - I'm best qualified. And I can use that chair weapon. Right now, Sheppard is the only one there who is capable, and if something should happen to him, there would be no one else."

"But we have personnel who have had the gene therapy now, Jack," Daniel broke into the discussion. You're not the only one here who can do it."

"I'm leading the mission, Daniel."

"Jack..."

"No time, Daniel."

"What are you thinking of to slow down these ships?" Garner interrupted.

"We need to get some ordinance out in space further. We're thinking of taking a jumper ship, and engaging them, try to draw them off."

"Being a Navy guy, how about mining the harbor, so to speak?" Garner interjected. "You could put some nukes out there, set them off when the ships approach."

Jack considered for only a moment. "I don't think that would be very effective. There's a lot of space out there. How far away would a proximity fuse work? And you have to remember how advanced these guys are. Maybe they would disregard the first one, not realizing it was a weapon - maybe we could do some damage with one - but then they will know, and just avoid or take out the rest of them."

"But I think it's worth a shot, Jack."

"And I think it's a waste of ordinance."

"Better than risking people in a ship."

"Actually, we're working on that one, too. Carter's working on programming one to run remotely," he turned and looked at the Atlantis schematics. "If only we had something we could put out there now that's maneuverable..."

"Cruise missiles?" one of the SGC officers ventured.

"No, they're not space worthy. They'd be totally ballistic."

"Sir?"

"Carter, explain it please."

Colonel Carter, who had looked surprised at her boss' response, but quickly covered, nodded her head in agreement. "General O'Neill is right. A cruise missile, even if the propulsion would work in space, maneuvers like an airplane, rudder and ailerons. It would need to be fitted with maneuvering rockets, like the space shuttle has, to change course in space."

"And we have no time to refit them," O'Neill finished. He looked straight at Garner. "How about SDI satellites?"

Kate saw Daniel nudge Sam with a questioning look. She mouthed back "_star wars_" to which Daniel mouthed "_Oh_."

"Don't know how effective they might be against Wraith shields," O'Neill continued, "but it might keep them occupied. Got any laser weapons in the attic that we could grab quickly?"

Garner shook his head. "Not to my knowledge. I believe they are either deployed, or were destroyed as a part of the disarmament treaty. That would be a good question for the Chiefs, however."

"Deployed... Daedalus could grab one and beam it here quickly enough."

"If the Joint Chiefs agreed." Garner countered.

O'Neill suddenly turned to Carter and stared. "Carter, how smart do you think these vampire guys are? They beam people up into the dart ships, right? Do you think they'd fall for, say, a crash dummy with a naquadah bomb on its back?

Carter stared back, the wheels turning, and then shook her head. "Sorry sir, but they use some kind of sensors to locate people. I don't recall any report of them beaming up say, a cow, or some other animal. I don't think they'd be fooled."

O'Neill looked disappointed. "Just a thought."

Kate interrupted, "What about..." then stopped. It seemed too harsh to suggest.

But now everybody was looking at her. "Excuse me, but I was remembering that during World War II, a dead soldier, with false intel in his pocket was left for the Germans to find..."

"What about that one, Carter?"

"I just don't know, sir," and she shook her head.

O'Neill looked around the room "Anything else?" There was no response. He glanced at his watch. "Look, whatever we're going to do, we're running out of time debating it. Atlantis needs help now. We've got supplies on the way, and as soon as they're here and ready, we're going. I have to go back to the Joint Chiefs with this plan five minutes ago, and get it approved."

"Very well. But I think the mines will work," Garner insisted.

O'Neill shrugged. "It may be all we have," he picked up his notes, and hurried into his office, Kate and the others following. Those who couldn't get into the office spilled out into the briefing room. Jack hit a button on the red phone on his desk, leaving the speaker on so the others could join with the discussion. It took him only a couple of minutes to review the basic outline with the Joint Chiefs. The first thing out of the Chairman's mouth did not surprise Kate.

"No."

"No?" asked O'Neill, a shocked expression on his face.

"Not to the plan, Jack. No, you are not going to Atlantis. Somebody else is going to command this mission. You are too valuable to risk."

"Oh, for crying out loud, sir, I have the experience and I have the gene, and can operate..."

"_No_, Jack. Pick one of your colonels, because you are absolutely not going."

Kate saw Daniel smirk and raise his eyebrows at O'Neill.

"Jack, this is Hammond. Don't even think about disregarding that one, son."

O'Neill flinched. Daniel smiled. He mouthed something to O'Neill. _'Payback is hell?'_ _What did he mean by that?_ she wondered. O'Neill shook his head at Daniel.

"How about the satellites, sir? Can we get a few of those?"

They could hear the Joint Chiefs discuss the option as they waited.

"Sorry, Jack. With the disarmament treaty, we cannot replace anything currently out there, and those satellites are vital to Earth's defense, especially if the Goa'uld or the Wraith should come calling here. No satellites."

Kate watched as O'Neill grimaced and shook his head. She could tell what he was thinking about the direction this plan was going. The conversation continued for several minutes. In the end, O'Neill got the ZPM, the rail guns, the personnel he wanted (minus himself in command), and Admiral Garner's space mines. The call ended, O'Neill looked around the room.

"I'd like to volunteer to go, Sir," _Reynolds_, Kate thought, recognizing the speaker.

"Me, too." _Dixon._

"Sir, I'll go." _Carter._

A lump came to Kate's throat, and from his expression, O'Neill's also, as voices continued around the room, every one of his people volunteering to go defend Atlantis - a testament to the dedication of the men and women of this command, and their confidence in their leader.

O'Neill looked around the room, and cleared his throat. "Thank you, people. Now, since the Chiefs are grounding me - and no offense to you, Reynolds, Dixon -" he said, nodding to his other Colonels, "Everett, you're in charge. This looks like one for the Marines, and you have had the gene therapy, in case Sheppard needs back up. Choose your men. I want a roster in 30 minutes.

"Carter, get on that ordnance list, and make sure any modifications needed are done."

"Dixon, pull together the supply list, work with Carter, and make sure everything is ready to go through the gate with the Marines. Also, I want at least two extra medical teams on the Daedalus. Get with Dr. Brightman, and make sure they have whatever supplies they need prior to departure.

"Reynolds, you're with me. Everett, by the time you're back here, we're going to have this plan final. Move, people! I want this team ready to go in five hours," O'Neill exited through the crowd to a chorus of "Yes, sir," Reynolds and Daniel in his wake, and returned to the briefing room, the others dispersing to their assigned tasks. Kate and the other flag officers followed O'Neill. Realizing they were still there, he turned to them. "This will take a while. May I suggest you all go back to your respective offices, and perhaps return before the defense team deploys?"

Garner nodded. "Good job, Jack."

O'Neill answered with a gesture that was a cross between a nod and a shrug, and turned his attention back to the battle plans.

Five hours later, Kate found herself standing at the observation window of the briefing room, staring down at the crowd in the gate room. An amazing amount of supplies and ordinance were on mechanized carts, "FREDs," and the Marines were in gear, checking their weapons, making last minute adjustments to their webbing. She saw O'Neill in close conversation with Everett. As they spoke, O'Neill was gesturing with both hands, a letter in one hand flapping as he moved. Finally, he handed the letter to Everett, who tucked it in his vest pocket, stood back and saluted O'Neill. She observed the General looking around the room at his troops, then up toward the control room.

"Ready, Walter? Siler?"

She heard a voice answer back, "Affirmative, sir."

"Dial her up!"

O'Neill strode just a couple feet up the ramp, stopped, and turned toward the men and women assembled there. As he spoke to them, the inner circle of the Stargate began spinning, smoke coming off the edges. Suddenly it stopped, clunked into place, and someone called "Chevron one encoded." It continued to spin, halt, and spin again. Kate had never seen the Stargate actually activate, and was mesmerized, but pulled her attention back to O'Neill as he spoke.

"You all know I don't do speeches, but just a couple words. We've been up against so-called 'technologically superior' bad guys before. And where are they now? Where are the Goa'uld? Where are the Replicators?"

"Gone!" someone shouted in answer.

"You betcha. A year ago, we sent some of our people through this gate to the very place you're traveling now. They've done well, and now we're gonna make sure they stay that way!"

"Yes, sir!" shouts rang from all around. The Stargate continued spinning, more chevrons locking in place.

O'Neill looked around at the faces before him. Kate was sure he was making eye contact with every one of the Marines about to leave. "I know you will."

"Chevron eight locked!" came the call from the control room.

"Good luck. Colonel Everett, move out!" O'Neill came down off the ramp, slapping Everett on the shoulder as he passed. Behind him, the Stargate exploded forward with what looked like a blast of water, which then imploded back into the ring, seeming to stand and shimmer. Kate gasped at the sight, but noted the men below didn't even flinch.

"Yes, sir! Marines, follow me!" Everett ordered, readied his weapon, and advanced up the ramp and through the Stargate, his Marines following on either side and behind him.

O'Neill watched them go, the FRED's and supplies moving with them. He turned back toward the control room. "Siler, as soon as that worm hole shuts down, I want you to pack up that ZPM and get it off to Daedalus."

"Yes, sir. All ready on it."

Kate saw O'Neill nod and, looking sadly, she thought, turn back toward the ramp, watching the last of the Marines step through. When the wormhole snapped shut, he remained there, standing for a few moments, then left, heading back up to the control room. Kate and Admiral Garner also turned away from their vantage point at the briefing room window and descended to the control room. Garner went directly to the General, extended a hand, and told him, "Anything you need, Jack."

O'Neill shook the offered hand, and said, "Thanks, Hal. I'll call you on that."

"I'm sure you will," the Admiral smiled, turned and left.

Kate looked around the room, men and women busy in their duties. "I'll get out of your hair, too," she said nodding toward the retreating Admiral, "and I'll extend the same offer."

Jack offered her a quick smile. "I'll call you on that one, too."

"You run a first class outfit here, Jack."

His smile was proud, but somewhat sad, "I know."

Kate nodded and left.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Whew! After that last chapter, we need a little levity. So, what happens when a straight-laced general meets a scantily clad Tok'ra? My thanks to Bookworm37 for the idea. The more I think about it, military folks spend their careers looking at correctness of uniform, if shoes are properly shined, etc.; why didn't this ever come up before? 

SPOILER WARNING: "Threads." Don't read this paragraph is you don't want to know. My story goes AU from here on. I had looked forward to the episode "Threads," but boy, was I disappointed! I couldn't believe they killed off Jacob! And Moebius - well, I agree, time travel gives me a headache, too. So, I wish last season had ended with Reckoning. And since this is my story, Jacob is still with us. And, since I didn't get enough of seeing Jack as a general, he's going to stay around a lot longer.

Visitors

By Latergatr

The phone on her desk rang. Kate Lippert lifted the receiver to her ear, but her mind was still concentrating on the document she was reading.

"Lippert."

"Hello, Ma'am. This is Lieutenant Colonel Carter."

"Hello, Colonel Carter," Kate greeted, turning all her attention to the phone.

"I was calling to let you know that my dad - I'm sure you've heard of him, he's a retired Air Force Major General..."

"Yes," Kate replied, "I have read about him."

"Well, Ma'am, he is visiting, with some of his friends, and I thought you might want to meet him, and them."

"Oh, yes," Kate thought, her mind racing at the prospect. She had read about Jacob Carter and how he was now a member of the Tok'ra, a race allied to Earth.

"That would be great. When is a good time?"

"Actually, now would be good, or if you have time later this morning..."

Kate did a quick mental run through of her schedule and couldn't think of anything in the next couple of hours that couldn't wait, so she replied, "Now is as good a time as any. I'll be down in a few minutes."

Kate hung up the phone and departed her office, letting Captain Washington know where she was headed on her way out.

When Kate arrived at the SGC's briefing room, she noticed a group of five individuals, along with Colonel Carter and Daniel Jackson. As she entered, she noted that the five she did not know were dressed all alike in tan-colored clothing ...except one. She couldn't help but stare.

"General Lippert!" Carter greeted, distracting her. "I'd like to introduce you to my father, Major General Jacob Carter, and Selmac of the Tok'ra."

Kate turned her attention to the man to whom she was being introduced. "It's an honor to meet you," Kate said, shaking his hand.

"And I'm glad to meet you. Kate?" he asked.

"Yes, please call me Kate."

"And please call me Jacob."

"Yes, Jacob," Kate smiled.

Jacob then introduced the other Tok'ra with him. There were two other men, and two women. When he got to the last, Kate tried not to let her jaw drop.

"And this is Freya, host to Anise."

"Freya, Anise," Kate stammered. She looked the young woman up and down. Instead of the tunic the others wore, Freya was dressed in what could only be called a halter-top. And it stopped just below her breasts, leaving her midriff completely bare. And what were those straps around her waist? _Oh, dear God, her panties are showing?_

Kate kept her voice even as she asked with all the dignity she could muster, "Excuse me, Freya, or Anise, but aren't you a bit out of uniform?"

"Out of uniform? I do not understand."

Kate gestured around at the others. "All the other Tok'ra are dressed similarly, in uniform, I take it. You're...missing something, aren't you?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see General Carter smile, and Colonel Carter was suddenly studying something down on the floor. She noticed Daniel Jackson seem to squirm.

"This is my customary manner of dress, General," Anise replied.

"Well it's highly inappropriate for a U.S. military installation. Any military installation on Earth, for that matter."

"Excuse me?"

"If you were in my command here, you would be reprimanded and sent home to change clothes immediately."

"Truly? For what reason?"

_What reason!_ Kate thought, nonplussed. "Because it's too revealing of your body. Totally distracting to other personnel and unprofessional."

"I'm sorry if I offend you, but on my host's planet, we are not shy of our sexuality. This manner of dress is commonplace."

"Perhaps there, but not here."

Hearing some snickers behind her, Kate spun around to the Carters and Jackson. "Didn't any of you ever tell her?"

The others quickly schooled their faces looking innocent. Kate turned back to Anise. "On this planet, professional women dress professionally. How can you expect anyone to take you seriously when what you are wearing is so revealing that everyone in the room is only paying attention to one thing? Or rather, two things."

"What do you mean?"

_Unbelievable!_ Kate turned toward the SF stationed at the briefing room door. "Airman."

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Come forward." The Airman approached. "Close your eyes."

"Yes, Ma'am!" he replied and snapped them shut.

"How many people are in the room?" she asked.

The young man squirmed uncomfortably. "Four, Ma'am."

"Try again, Airman."

"Uh, five, Ma'am?" he asked hesitatingly.

"Not quite. Describe the Tok'ra woman Anise."

"Ma'am, she has blonde hair, she's about 5 foot 6, and..."

"And what?"

"She's very nice looking, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Airman. Resume your post."

"Yes Ma'am!" and he quickly returned to the doorway.

"You see," Kate shrugged. "He only noticed one thing. He is entirely distracted by the display of your body."

She turned back to Jacob. "Why did nobody ever tell her that she was dressed inappropriately?"

"Actually, it was never an issue - we see many different forms of dress among the various alien races," Jacob replied, his voice uneven as he tried not to laugh.

"Perhaps _this,_" Kate waved her hand up and down toward Anise, "is permissible on another planet, but it is totally unacceptable here."

She noted Colonel Carter and Daniel exchanging amused smiles as she reproved the other general. Kate was not amused.

"I apologize if my manner of dress has offended you," Anise bowed her head slightly. "But this is truly the first time anyone has suggested that my dress was displeasing."

Jackson laughed out loud, but quickly covered his mouth and pretended to be coughing instead. Kate looked around, noting Sam was trying very hard not to laugh herself, and Jacob Carter was covering his mouth also, obviously trying to contain himself, too. What am I missing here? Kate wondered.

Just then, General O'Neill entered the room from his office. "Kate! Good to see you!"

But before she could answer, Anise turned to O'Neill and asked, "Do you find my manner of dress to be distracting?"

O'Neill looked past Anise, slowly taking in the faces of the people around them, obviously trying to figure out what he had missed before answering.

Jackson was snickering again, still trying to hide it behind a cough; but then erupted into uncontrollable laughter. Both Carters now had hands over their faces.

"Only in the most... pleasant way." he replied, with a slight shake of the head and straight-faced innocence.

The Carters and Jackson dissolved in laughter.

"What?" O'Neill asked; but nobody was able to answer, not even Kate.


	5. Chapter 5

The Asgard

The doors to the elevator opened, depositing MG Kate Lippert onto the 27th floor of the Cheyenne Mountain complex. She looked at her watch, still chagrinned that she was so late for the weekly briefing on SGC activities. Not only was she late, but she really looked forward to these briefings. This was one meeting each week that she could count on to never be dull! And it was so-o-o much better to hear it first-hand than to get the watered-down, declas written version.

As she rounded a corner, she nearly ran into Brigadier General Jack O'Neill, escorting Admiral Garner and two other of the mountain's flag officers.

Her senior officer couldn't resist the dig. "Kate! A bit late, isn't it?" Admiral Garner asked.

"Unavoidable, sir," she replied. "I hoped I'd make the tail end of the briefing."

"Don't worry, Ma'am," O'Neill spoke up, "there's still a written copy, or two, or twelve in the briefing room. Please come back with me, and you can read it."

"See you later, Kate, Jack," Admiral Garner gave her a smile, O'Neill a nod, and left with the two others. Kate and O'Neill moved back down the hall toward the briefing room

"Jack, I've told you to call me Kate at least ten times by now." They moved into the briefing room. "Besides which, I've heard you're getting your second star soon."

"Yeah, there's something just weird about that."

She laughed. As she had gotten to know the man better, there was something totally disarming about his self-deprecation. She knew he deserved this upcoming promotion. He and his command had been very instrumental in keeping the US and Russians from disastrously going to war several weeks back, when the Goa'uld had conspired to pit the two powers against each other. And she had been there herself when he had planned the successful defense of Atlantis. It was obvious that when it came to dealing with aliens, both aggressors and allies, he was the expert. And, as Lieutenant Colonel Carter had told her weeks ago, the man is a tactical genius.

Looking around the room, she saw the general's aide busily clearing the remnants of the briefing. Daniel Jackson was also still present, gathering up his presentation materials and his ever-present coffee mug. He had looked up at their entrance, and now Kate moved around to his side of the table.

"Walter, can you leave one of those for General Lippert?" O'Neill asked, indicating the reports as he continued across the room.

"Yes, sir," the sergeant replied, immediately handing a copy to Kate. "The coffee is still fresh, Ma'am, if you'd like a cup."

"No, thank you, Sergeant, I don't believe I'll press my luck."

"I'll, uh, just finish this up when you're done then, Ma'am," Walter said and he, too, ducked out the rear exit towards the control room.

Kate glanced briefly at the papers, then shifted her attention back to O'Neill, who smiled, waved toward the stairs, and said, "If you'll excuse me, Kate, I have other business..."

"Certainly. I'm sorry I ran late this morning."

"No problem. I _know_ how it is!" and he, too, departed toward the control room.

Doctor Jackson tarried for a while, watching O'Neill's retreat. He turned to Kate and smiled, nodding back toward his friend. "I caught the tail end of your discussion. That's pretty unusual, isn't it, getting his second star so soon?"

"Depends on how you look at it. Unusual for the way most promotions go these days, yes; it's usually a couple of years at least between stars. But, Eisenhower was promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to four-star in less than two years."

"Really? But that was during wartime, right?"

"Exactly," she smiled, nodding to him, "and if this hasn't been wartime, when is? And, how many generals do we have who are experienced in warfare with hostile aliens?"

Daniel smiled back, realization dawning. "Oh, yes-s."

"Yes, indeed, Daniel! I sometimes think, when I sit in these briefings, that what you all do has become so ordinary to you here, that you forget how extraordinary it is to all the rest of us." Kate looked around, pausing for a moment to gaze at the Stargate. "You are _all_ the stuff that legends are made of," she shrugged at him.

"Well..." Daniel paused, his mind obviously working, but also looking somewhat embarrassed at her praise.

"It's okay, Daniel. I promise not to make you get up on a pedestal today," Kate laughed.

Daniel still gave her a nervous glance, but returned her smile. "Oh, good! I had other plans today."

They both laughed and he turned to finish picking up his things. "Well, I'll get out of your way. But please call me if you have any questions, though."

Kate settled herself at a chair to quickly read the report, glancing at her watch to see how much time she had before she had to return to her own office. She was seated for only a few moments, and Doctor Jackson had just gone out the door, when the room was suddenly filled with a bright light, and there seemed to be a humming sound all around her. Startled, her breath caught in her throat. She automatically jumped to her feet, the papers from her forgotten reading dropping around her. Then the light seemed to resolve itself into one particular spot, and before her eyes a small, gray creature suddenly appeared. It reminded her of something...what? _Gollum, in the Lord of the Rings?_ Even in her surprise, however, she knew immediately what she was looking at - an Asgard!

"Greetings! I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet."

"Hello, oh, greetings, Thor," she recovered, " I'm Major General Kate Lippert. I'm the Commander of the Command & Control facility here in the mountain."

"I am pleased to meet you," the alien slowly turned his head from one side to another, looking around the room, "but I was expecting to see O'Neill."

"Oh, he has just gone to the control room..." Kate began, edging toward the stairs. But then there was a clambering noise as O'Neill hurried back up the steps and into the room, followed by the Sergeant and Colonel Reynolds, 2IC of the SGC. Doctor Jackson burst in from the same hallway door through which he had just departed.

"Thor!" O'Neill exclaimed, coming to a sudden halt. Then, with an apologetic glance at Kate, "I assume you two have met?"

"Yes," replied Thor, "we were making acquaintance."

O'Neill looked from Thor back to Kate. "Sorry, Kate. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Jack. This is quite an honor to meet the Supreme Commander," she hoped that she didn't look as pale and shaky as she felt, though. Maybe she did, because O'Neill kept his gaze on her for a while, before turning back to the small alien.

"So, Thor, what's up, buddy?"

"This is a," Thor paused, "social call."

"Social call?" Jack asked in amazement, canting his head and squinting disbelievingly at Thor.

"Yes. It has come to the attention of the High Council that you have complained in the past that the Asgard only visited at times of crisis. So this is a social call. We have come to - say hello."

Jack's body seemed to relax, and he rocked back on his heels, hands in his pockets. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yes. And is Lieutenant Colonel Carter present? We would like her to visit also."

"Visit?"

At that moment, as if on cue, Samantha Carter dashed into the briefing room, no doubt having been summoned by the sergeant, Kate thought.

"Good. We are all here," Thor said, touching something on his wrist. Suddenly, Kate found herself surrounded by bright light, and heard the buzzing sound again. She was disoriented, especially as the light faded and she found herself standing by what looked like a large glass window, with an awesome view of ... _Earth! Oh, my God, I'm looking at Earth! I'm in space!_

"Thor!" she could hear O'Neill's voice shout. Turning about quickly, she saw that everyone who had been in the briefing room had transported with her. O'Neill glanced worriedly in her direction. "General Lippert is just visiting. She doesn't have need..."

Kate quickly interrupted. No way was she going to miss this! "That's quite all right, Jack. I'm sure I can catch up with my schedule later."

"Kate..."

"No, no. I'll be glad to sign whatever waivers - or whatever - when we get back."

Thor looked from one general to the other, blinking. "Have I caused distress?"

"Oh, no, no," Kate answered quickly before O'Neill could speak. "This is fine. This is more than fine," she rubbed her hands together.

O'Neill looked at her with a smirk. "Yes, well, first time in space it is."

Thor looked between them again, appraising. "Very well. Welcome aboard the _O'Neill II_."

"_O'Neill II_?" Jack asked, clearly pleased.

"Yes. We thought you might like to tour our newest battleships as part of our visit."

"_Ships_?" he emphasized the plural.

"Yes. After our tour of the O'Neill, we will visit the second ship, the _Samantha Carter_."

Colonel Carter's mouth flew open in surprise, then a wide smile lit up her face.

"_Samantha Carter_!" O'Neill repeated with a large grin himself. "It's about time, Thor!"

Thor bowed his head slightly in reply. "Then, please follow me, and we will conduct our inspection."

The next couple of hours were like a dream to Kate as they toured the massive ships. For such a small-statured race, they certain built large vessels. She was amazed at the technology she saw, as well as the marvelous views of earth as they passed by the windows, or view ports, or whatever they were.

At one point, Thor took them to what must have been the equivalent of a wardroom on an Asgard vessel, and offered refreshments. Kate happened to be standing next to Colonel Carter as they entered, who whispered in her ear, "I'd pass on this one, ma'am. Trust me."

Kate nodded back, trusting the younger woman's expertise on this one. Sure enough, as Thor spoke to each person, they all politely refused any food at all. She decided she'd ask about that one later.

Finally the tour concluded, and Thor transported them back to the SGC briefing room. Kate began to feel a little guilty that she was no doubt being missed in her own office, and worried that her unexplained absence must be causing her staff chaos - it just didn't do for the boss to be AWOL - so, reluctantly, she asked her leave. She nodded Thor and Jack, and turned on her heel to go. With a second thought, she turned and pulled Carter aside, as O'Neill and the rest of the troupe headed into his office.

"Just out of curiosity," she asked slowly, "I've met two alien races now, and I'm just wondering...are we the only planet where people wear clothes?"


	6. Chapter 6

Authors note: Thanks for all the reviews! Glad you're enjoying the look at the SGC from an outsider's eyes. To answer the reviewer with a concern, my fictional characters Admiral Garner and Major General Kate Lippert are not Air Force because when I researched the real commands, those real-life positions are held by a Navy 4-star and a Navy 2-star. I made Kate an Army officer because I wanted to show the jointness of the command. Also, I am (proudly) an Army vet, and an Air Force brat, so I'm hurt that someone thinks I don't do the military protocol right. I strive very hard to get it done right, and actually, I worry that I do just the opposite, and get _too _military for the average reader. Well, can't please 'em all! Enjoy! 

Dedicated to the real heroes of Northern Command, who keep us safe from the real life bad guys.

Rescue

By Latergatr

Gravel crunched under her feet as she jogged along, at a much faster pace than the "Airborne shuffle," but not quite her normal rate. Kate Lippert glanced sideways at her "running mate" and smiled to herself. _You can still run circles around 'em, old girl_, she thought. A few weeks ago when she had discovered that Lieutenant Colonel Carter also liked to run the trails around Cheyenne Mountain, she had asked her if she would like to join her. They tried to meet on Wednesday mornings when Sam wasn't ..._TDY...somewhere_... She knew that Carter had never suspected that Kate was a 10-miler when she accepted the offer. Kate had cut back to two miles on Wednesdays for a while, but now they usually ran for five. Not that the young woman wasn't in great shape or anything. But how would Carter even suspect that until just a couple years back, Kate used to compete in marathons? _Well, a girl's gotta have some secrets._ Kate had realized early on in her career that if she was going to lead men and women in the military, she not only needed to be able to keep up with them physically, but excel.

And Kate enjoyed her time with Sam. She seemed like an older version of her own daughter, intelligent and resourceful. She also suspected that Sam enjoyed having a senior military woman, not in her chain of command, to whom she could talk freely when she felt the need. They had been developing a rapport over their morning jogs.

"You doing all right, Carter?" Kate asked.

"Yes, Ma'am. It's really beautiful out here this morning."

"Yes, it is. I told Captain Washington I may be a little longer this morning, just to enjoy it." Kate nearly laughed when she heard Sam stifle a groan.

A couple minutes more down the trail, however, Carter's beeper sounded, and they both pulled up, while Sam retrieved the device from her sweatpants pocket and checked it.

"Oh, I've got to get back," she said, hurriedly pushing a button and slipping the beeper back in her pocket.

"Okay. There's a short cut over this way. We're actually pretty close to the entrance from here."

"Short cut, Ma'am? And you never told me?" Carter smiled and did her best to sound offended.

Kate laughed and voiced her earlier thought. "Girl's gotta have some secrets. Let's go."

They headed out at a quicker run, Kate leading the way through the trees along her short cut. They arrived at the entrance just a few minutes later, continuing past the guard shack where the SF's on duty saluted them.

As they had been running along, Kate's curiosity had been growing as to what was going on with her downstairs neighbors. Reaching the elevator, Kate asked. "I think I'll tag along. I'm not expected back for a while, anyway."

Carter shrugged. "Your prerogative, Ma'am." They stepped into the elevator, the doors closed, she continued, "Once you've been abducted by aliens, what else new is there to see?"

They both chuckled softly.

Arriving on level 28, it was all business. Teal'c and SG-3 were geared up in the gate room, and there were maybe a dozen other SF's manning the weaponry there that is used to guard the gate. The stargate was open, and sirens were wailing. Sam and Kate hurried up the stairs to the control room, where General O'Neill and Daniel Jackson stood behind the consoles manned by Sergeant Harriman and anotherenlisted manwhom Kate did not recognize. All had their eyes fixed on the monitors above, which was displaying a video from a UAV.

"What's going on?" Carter asked.

"SG-10 is trying to get back home, but hostiles are holding the gate," O'Neill replied curtly, without removing his eyes from the screen. Daniel took a step back and turned to talk to Sam.

"They were overdue, so we sent a MALP through to radio them. Within just a minute, the MALP was destroyed. But we did get enough from their radio transmission to know they were in trouble. So we sent one of those new UAV's through, and we're going to do an extraction."

Sam turned to Kate to explain further. "General O'Neill has developed tactics to effect retrieval when the gate is in hostile hands. It used to be that when the gate was being held, since it's the only way off a planet..."

"There's just no way off," finished Kate.

Carter nodded. "Now, we verify hostile numbers and their positions by the UAV. It has coms capability and a specialized camera mounted on it that can take 360º photos in just a split second, then transmit back which we can then review in slow motion. That way, even if the aircraft is destroyed, we still have a look at the area. But it flies very fast, so we hope that it will allude the hostiles, and can stay aloft long enough to get an even better and further out view of the surrounding area, so that we know exactly where all the hostiles are, and ensure that none of our people are in front of the gate in harm's way. Once we know that, we can strike, and go in for our people."

Kate was focused on the videos now, also. It was stunning to realize that she was looking at actual Jaffa warriors on another planet, faces turned in surprise toward the camera's lense.

O'Neill bent forward to the microphone. "Okay, we have eight Jaffa in the immediate area around the gate, three to the left and five to the right. It doesn't look like there are any more outside the immediate area, but there are trees obscuring the view, so there could be more."

"Got it, sir!" Colonel Reynolds called up from the gateroom.

"Prepare to move out."

Reynolds saluted, and Teal'c bowed slightly, turning his massive form toward the ramp.

"Initiate protocol!"

At O'Neill's order, two men with grenade launchers began firing through the open Stargate, one toward the left and one toward the right. "Those are aimed to hit the outer perimeter," Sam whispered to Kate, "Away from the gate."

Kate heard somebody count to five, then two other men hurried forward and rolled two odd-looking spherical shaped objects straight through the gate.

"What the blazes was that?" Kate whispered to Sam.

"Actually, one of my creations," she answered, some pride showing in her voice. "One of the problems with attacking through the gate is that we don't want to damage the DHD. We were thinking of claymores which, as you know, detonate in only one direction, so if we used one, say its back to the DHD, it would take out everything in front, not harming the DHD behind. But, since we can't place it exactly, can't just toss it through the gate like a grenade, if the detonation were to damage the DHD, we would have to do a manual dial out. Although we do take a computer with us in case we have to do that, that would take much longer - too long in a combat situation," She paused and shivered as if remembering something. Then she sighed and continued on. "So General O'Neill had this idea, and asked if there were some way to make a moving claymore aim itself away from the DHD. I worked the problem, and this is the result. They are doubly encased in spheres that allow them to roll, but keep the claymore device inside upright and aimed in a specific direction. The case is both intelligent and self-propelling - it has sensors that detect the naquadah in the DHD and the Stargate. DHD's are nearly always located straight ahead of the Stargate, which we verify by the video," she waived a hand toward the monitors. "When the bombs approach, the sensors engage the drive in the spheres, and turn them away from the DHD and they detonate. That pretty much clears the area for our guys to go in."

Again somebody was counting aloud to five.

"Let's move!" Reynolds shouted, and the men rushed the gate, Teal'c leading in front.

As soon as the last man went through, O'Neill ordered, "Shut it down!" And the gate closed immediately.

"Now what?" Kate asked Sam, but it was O'Neill who answered.

"Now the hard part."

"We wait," Kate finished, and O'Neill nodded.

He turned around and looked at her and Carter for the first time, taking in the sight of the two sweaty, dusty women in their exercise clothes. He raised his eyebrows. "Were you ladies on your way to a party?"

The wait seemed interminable, but in less than an hour, thankfully, the gate activated again. "Receiving SG-3's IDC, sir."

"Open the iris, Walter," O'Neill said, then into the microphone to the SF's below, "Heads up people, here they come."

A few seconds later, and SG-3, Teal'c, and SG-10 personnel were tromping wearily through the gate.

"Mission accomplished, sir," Reynolds called, and O'Neill turned and hurried to the gateroom, followed closely by Daniel and Sam.

Kate remained in the control room, but she could hear the conversation over the speakers. "SG-10 was able to hear the coms through the radio on the UAV, so they were ready for the strike. As soon as they heard the explosions, they made a move for the gate. We were fortunate that the Jaffa were all near the gate, and all but one was take out by the grenades and claymores."

"He was given the opportunity to join the free Jaffa, but he declined," Teal'c finished quietly.

O'Neill nodded grimly. "Okay, let's get everybody to the infirmary to get checked out. Good work, people!"

Kate watched them shuffle out the door toward the infirmary. O'Neill slapped Reynolds on the arm as he left, and clasped Teal'c's arm, saying something to him that Kate could not hear. Sam Carter returned to the control room. Kate's eyes were still riveted to the scene below, but she said to Carter. "I'm glad I came. It's always amazing. I can't tell you how impressed I am with the work you do here."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

Kate glanced around, and at herself. "I better get back to my office before Captain Washington sends Search and Rescue out to look for me. Well, after I hit the shower first, that is."

"Yes, Ma'am," Carter chuckled. "Next Wednesday?"

"Yes, Colonel, barring any other alien incursions."

"I'll tell them we're closed that day."

"That _works_?"


	7. Chapter 7

The phone buzzed on the desk, and Kate Lippert sighed. She had just risen from her chair, intent on getting another cup of coffee and stretching her legs a bit, going to do the rounds of her command. She had learned long ago that you can't just command from a desk - you need to get out among your people. She turned back, however, and answered the phone. 

"Lippert."

"General, this is Colonel Carter."

Kate recognized her voice. "Why hello, Colonel. I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks."

"Yes, Ma'am, I've been TDY, but I have a couple of days stand down now."

"Well, good; glad you're back," Kate replied, knowing very well that the "_TDY_" station where Sam had been posted was in fact "off world."

"What can I do for you?"

"Actually, Ma'am, I was kind of wondering if you wouldn't mind...I could use some career counseling. Would you have time to talk to me for maybe an hour?"

_Career counseling_ Kate wondered. She thought she detected something in Carter's request, however - a little emotion, maybe sadness, or worry? But, career counseling certainly was up her alley, and she was pleased that Colonel Carter would seek her out. "I believe that career counseling is best done as time apart, as it were, off-base. How about meeting me away from the mountain? Dinner? You could come to my place, meet my family."

"I'd be honored, Ma'am."

Kate thought she could detect relief in Carter's voice now. "Okay, how about tomorrow night? I'll have my aide give you directions, and we'll see you at 1830."

"Thank you very much, Ma'am. I'll see you then."

Kate lowered the handset to its cradle and pondered for a moment the worry she detected in the younger woman's voice. She hoped nothing was amiss.

SG1SG1

Dinner was coming to an end, and Kate's two children were still chattering on about the latest happenings at school. Her husband had done most of the cooking tonight, steaks on the grill, and now he rose, reminding the kids that they were to help clear the table.

"The meal was wonderful, Ma'am," Carter smiled to Kate and her husband.

"Yes, Matt is great with the grill."

"You should give General O'Neill lessons," Carter laughed. "When he was commander of our team, he used to have us over on occasion, and it was a running joke that the food was always burned. We started having pizza delivered there so that we would have something edible."

Kate laughed. "I'll have to remember that if he asks us over!"

As the teenagers left the dining room with their arms loaded, Matt began picking up the remaining empty glasses. "I think we can handle this," he said. "Why don't you two go out on the deck a bit? It's lovely out this evening."

Kate rose, gave her husband a peck on the cheek, "Just what I was thinking. Thanks, Matt." She motioned Carter toward the rear entrance, and Sam followed Kate out onto her deck. The house overlooked a beautiful view of the mountains, and the chairs beaconed her to sit and admire that view.

"It's very peaceful here," Sam said, settling into a comfortable chair.

"Yes," Kate agreed. "Glad you like it. Now, shall we cut to the chase? What is it that you need to talk about?"

Sam looked down at her hands, and then raised her eyes to look again in the distance. "General Hammond has offered me a new job - head of R&D at Area 51."

"That sounds great, Colonel! Congratulations!"

"Yes, well, I'm really kind of hesitant to take it."

"Oh? Why?"

"I've been here a long time. I _love _what I do here. I'm not sure I want to give up the exploration part of my job; visiting other..." she trailed off, mindful that they were not in a secure area.

"I can imagine that that would be difficult. Have you spoken to General O'Neill? He must have experienced much the same dilemma when he took his promotion."

Carter smiled at that, and looked back at her hands momentarily before glancing at Kate, then turning back to the horizon. "I don't think, as my immediate superior, I'd like to talk to him just yet." She paused, and Kate said nothing, waiting.

"Don't get me wrong - I'm honored they want me in that position, and I'm sure I'd like it. I love doing the research and hands-on science. And there are a couple of situations, personally, that making the move would solve," Sam turned and looked straight at Kate now.

"You may know, a good friend, Dr. Janet Frazier, died just a few months ago, and her daughter, Cassandra, now lives with me. Well, not exactly all the time - she is in college - but she is living with me whenever she is out of school. Having a 'daughter' of sorts now has changed my view of a lot of things. One is that I realized how much the mother/daughter relationship meant to both Janet and Cassie, and how it fills a spot in my life that I didn't know was missing.

"You know, when I was considering marrying Pete, my ex-fiancé, I was really looking forward to having children. But then I started thinking about how to work that into my life as it is. I mean, drop a newborn baby off at daycare and go off -" once again she had to stop herself. "You know."

Kate nodded and urged her to continue.

"Even with Cassie in my life, and I'm sure it's different with an older child, but Cassie is still needy, feeling pretty alone, which is understandable. I mean, if it's that way for a young adult, how much more would a very young child need his or her mother? On the other hand, I definitely know I could never be a full-time mom. I need the mental stimulation that my work provides. And Pete - well, he was looking for the white-picket-fence kind of life. I think he resented my time away. I got to thinking that maybe if I were working a regular job, things would have been better between us, there would have been a way to work out the family life issues.

"If I were to take the Area 51 job, I could go home every night, and be there for Cassie. And I could still go - _TDY_- from time to time, I suppose."

"Yes, I would certainly think they would want you to."

"Yeah," Sam smiled sadly. Kate thought Carter was beginning to talk herself into it.

"So, was that the other advantage? Perhaps reconciling with Pete?"

Sam chewed her bottom lip. "Off the record, Ma'am?"

Kate nodded. Carter thought for another long minute before she slowly responded.

"You and I had a little discussion several weeks ago... after I broke up with Pete...Well, yes, there is a relationship I would like to pursue, and yes, my current circumstances prevent it. If I go to another command, it kind of opens that door, but puts another obstacle, distance, into the picture."

Kate pondered this one. "For what it's worth, I have been separated from my husband, due to transfers, from time to time, sometimes for months, including time during our engagement. We survived. And I've seen other couples endure that separation and survive. Eventually you do get back together, and the reunion can make up for all the lost time."

Kate turned to look at the horizon, as did Sam. "It sounds to me like you do have some very good reasons to take the job. And of course, it would be a great career move, Sam. Perhaps some eagles might be down the road on that career path?" meaning Sam could make full Colonel.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, maybe it is possible to have it all."

"And turning down such a position _doesn't _look so good career-wise," Kate warned. "One other thing to consider: if I were you, I would certainly talk it over - both with Cassie and your friend - to make sure you're all on the same page. Maybe Cassie would rather stay here, near her home and friends, than move to Nevada. Maybe your friend isn't so interested in a long-distance relationship or any relationship, for that matter. Just like with science, you need to gather all the data before coming to a conclusion."

Sam smiled wistfully. "Thanks for your advice. I'm glad you talked to me. You're really an amazing woman, General."

"As are you, Colonel. As are you."


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry it took so-o-o long, but here it is, the final Chapter! Remember that we went AU a while back: I've ignored everything that happened from "Threads" on, so Jacob's still around. 

If there are any Air Force out there reading, please let me know if "Squardron" is used appropriately, or if it should be a different term.

Enjoy!

**Promotions**

Kate Lippert took one more glance in the mirror, making sure her class A's were "STRAC." _STRAC,_ she thought, _now there's an old one. But the "combat" I do these days is quite different._ Her mind strayed to Jack O'Neill briefly. _It must be worse for him, she mused, having been in the field for so long._

It was "promotion day" in the SGC. She was going to attend the third one that was taking place today - Jack O'Neill's second star pinning. In true O'Neill fashion, he had decided that the two other promotions should happen first before his. Sergeant Harriman had been promoted to Chief Master Sergeant this morning, and, following that, Sergeant Siler had been commissioned to Warrant Officer. Since Lieutenant Colonel Carter was transferring to Area 51 (yes, she had decided to go), O'Neill decided that Siler would be the best, most obvious choice to be the "OIC of all things related to the mechanics of the Stargate," as he termed it. Warrant Officer, "super specialist," billet seemed to fit Siler best.

And while those two promotions had been held within the SGC "family," protocol demanded there had to be more pomp for a general's promotion. In fact, President Hayes wanted O'Neill to come to the Whitehouse, where he had received his first star. But O'Neill respectfully declined his offer, stating that since it was actually the good work of his people that had earned him this promotion, they should all be able attend, and that meant Cheyenne Mountain.

So, here she was, preparing for O'Neill's promotion ceremony. The President was not able to attend since it was being held here. However, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Maynard, was present, as was Lt Gen George Hammond, O'Neill's boss. Kate had not yet met Hammond, but she understood that he had commanded the SGC through most if its existence. Of course, the local brass, Admiral Garner and General Metcalf would be in attendance from Cheyenne's other commands, as would General Kerrigan from the Academy.

Satisfied that all was correct, Kate turned away from the mirror, heading out of her offices for the elevator to the SGC and the crowd assembling there.

On the long ride down, Kate found herself reminiscing about the last few months. She'd found out we weren't alone in the universe. She'd met aliens. She'd taken tours of honest-to-god alien spaceships. And she'd met some of the most extraordinary people with whom she'd ever made acquaintance. And some extraordinary - unpeople? she thought.

Remembering the crisis with the Russians just a few weeks earlier, she shuddered. She had been in her Command Center during that one, monitoring intel to be passed to the SGC below. At the time, she'd had no idea what was going on there, what the SGC involvement was with an Earth-bound crisis. But Jack requested the input, and she trusted that there was something that he could do in the situation. When she found out later that the Russian General Kiselev was a Goa'uld... She shook her head. _It was only the SGC's intervention that kept us from the unimaginable,_ she thought.

The doors slid open, and Kate found herself at the SGC sign-in desk. She quickly signed her name and proceeded on down to the gate room, where the ceremony was to take place. Entering the already crowded room, she spied Lieutenant Colonel Carter.

"Good morning, General," Carter greeted her with a smile. "Wait till you see all the visitors here today. And I don't mean just the brass."

Kate felt a surge of adrenalin. "Oh? You mean..."

Carter nodded, "Oh, yeah! Intergalactic representatives."

"Where's your boss?" Kate asked, looking around to see who or what else she might see.

"He's entertaining the Chairman and some of the other guests in the briefing room. They'll be down soon. We should be getting started in just a few minutes."

Kate looked up. From this angle and through the glass she could see just the heads of a couple of people in the briefing room. Among them, she recognized Jacob Carter.

"Oh, your father is here today. You must be pleased."

"Yes, Ma'am," Carter replied. "Actually, he's here today as a representative from the Tok'ra. It's always great to see him."

"When is your farewell?"

"We're going to do the formal one on Friday. Dad's going to stay until then. I hope he can make the change of command in Nevada, too."

"Yes," Kate smiled back to Carter. "I'm sure he wouldn't want to miss it. I'm glad you've been able to come to a decision, and hope it will all work out for the best for you."

"Thank you, Ma'am, and thank you for your advice the other day. After talking to Cassie, she did want to get away from the Springs for a while, and all the memories here - kind of make a clean break. She's going to be going away to college soon, anyway, most likely California, so I'll actually be closer geographically to her, at least."

Carter's eyes glanced quickly around the room once before continuing. "And, uh, I had a conversation with Pete, my ex fiancé - I needed to clear up some things with him, some misunderstandings. I just didn't want to leave it as it was between us."

"So...is his opinion one of your determining factors in your decision?" Kate fished.

Carter glanced around again before answering with a sad smile, "Sometimes, you just have to do what's right for yourself."

Kate started to reply, but Colonel Rondell, in charge of protocol, approached just then and interrupted. "Excuse me, Ma'am, let me show you to your seat. Colonel Carter, if you could take your place, we're about to begin."

Kate nodded to Rondell and Carter, and followed him to a chair in the area designated for VIP's, where General Kerrigan was already seated. Of course, there wouldn't be much sitting during this ceremony. It was a little too cramped here today to even have a color guard process, so the colors were already posted. _And, knowing O'Neill, in order to keep the ceremony as short as possible,_ she snorted to herself. It hadn't taken her long to discover that O'Neill did not like being in the limelight.

She had not been seated long when Rondell re-entered the gate room, calling "Attention!"

Kate watched as the doors opened and General Maynard entered, followed by Admiral Garner, General Metcalf, an Air Force three-star who must be George Hammond, then ...Thor? General Carter followed him; then an older man dressed in robes and a metal skullcap, a woman with - tree branches and feathers? - in her hair, and finally O'Neill.

Kate was amazed at the procession of humans and aliens going by, then realized that everybody else in the room took in the scene as commonplace. The alien representatives took places in the VIP area, as did Garner and Metcalf. General Maynard took the podium, the others fanning out to either side of him. O'Neill took his place next to Maynard, flanked on the other side by Hammond.

Maynard called "At ease!" then turning to the VIP's "Please take your seats." He paused while everyone settled, then began, "This is an auspicious day, indeed. It's been only a little over a year since General O'Neill took command here at the SGC, but a victorious year it has been!"

The assembly cheered and applauded. Calls of "hooah!" rang out.

"On behalf of the President of the United States, I extend congratulations to all of you in this command for those victories..."

More cheers and applause.

"... as well as to your commander, Brigadier General Jack O'Neill."

At that, there was a great ovation, as all those seated came to their feet and applauded loudly. Kate thought O'Neill looked downright embarrassed. _I'll probably never see that again!_ she thought. O'Neill raised his hands motioning for everyone to return to their seats, but the applause continued for a bit longer yet. Finally, the applause died down and Maynard continued.

"Without further ado then, since General O'Neill insists that we must finish this up before the ice cream melts," laughter floated around the room. "Attention to orders..." General Maynard read O'Neill's promotion orders, and then he and General Hammond each pinned a star on O'Neill's epaulets. Meanwhile, Chief Harriman and Mr. Siler marched to the rear of the platform where the flags stood, and exchanged the one-star flag for a two-star.

First Maynard then Hammond exchanged salutes with O'Neill and shook his hand as the room filled with applause. Maynard stepped back, motioning to Jack that it was now his turn to take the podium.

O'Neill stepped up, tapping on the mike a couple times as he settled behind the podium. Kate heard some snickers around the room as he did so - apparently another "O'Neillism."

"It's very true saying that 'a general is only as good as the people he commands'," he began, "and my promotion today is a testament to how well all of you do your jobs every day, and I thank you."

Applause resounded around the room. O'Neill waited for it to die down before continuing on.

"Your performance under the extraordinary circumstances in which we frequently find ourselves has always been better than any commander could ask for. You are the best of the best."

The room exploded with applause and whoops again.

"Now, you know I'd like to keep talking," he said with an obvious sarcastic tone, "but I understand that there is cake waiting someplace. So let's get to it! Squadron, attention!"

O'Neill and those with him on the ramp came to attention themselves, then faced left and proceeded down the ramp to the door. After the others had exited, O'Neill turned about face and called "Dismissed and fall out for the mess hall!"

The whole assembly began moving toward the door and the reception area. Kate winded her way through the crowd to catch up to Jacob Carter who had found his way to his daughter's side.

"Jacob! Good to see you again," she greeted the elder Carter.

"And you also, Kate."

"I was just congratulating your daughter earlier. Head of R&D, nice gig."

"Yes, I'm very proud of my little girl."

"Dad!" Carter admonished, blushing slightly.

"I know, I know," leaning forward in a conspiratorial kind of way he said in a stage whisper, "It's a parental thing." Then louder, "But I guess I won't be able to see you as often."

"Actually, I'll still be going off-world from time to time, Dad. In fact, General O'Neill wants to increase scientific presence in Atlantis, so I'll even get to go there."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now that we know the wealth of technology we may be able to glean from Atlantis, as well as the threat they face there, the General's thought is that we should learn as much as we can as quickly as we can, in case Atlantis would have to evacuated, or worse, destroyed to keep that information from falling into enemy hands. One of my responsibilities will be to select personnel, and oversee the research that comes back."

"I see," replied Jacob.

"And," Sam continued, "he also has some ideas about improving our intel. He thinks we should develop better resources. I mean, no offense, Dad, but we can't just keep relying on the Tok'ra and Jaffa for all our off-world intel. So that's another project I'll be helping..."

A mischievous grin was spreading across Jacob's face as she continued, and suddenly Sam realized how she must have been sounding.

"Oh, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"You just get so caught up when you're discussing your favorite subject," her father replied with a wink.

"We're also working the communications side on for the SGC in that regard," Kate interjected, thinking of the technology. "General O'Neill is looking for secure coms we can use for off-world teams so that non-allied forces will not be able to pick up our chatter anymore."

"Well!" Jacob said light heartedly. "Sounds like the Jack O'Neill fan club?"

Kate and Sam were laughing in reply, as they finally made their way to where Jack was standing, in conversation with Daniel Jackson, near the cake table.

"Congratulations, Jack!" Jacob shook Jack's hand warmly. "You deserve this and much more."

"Thank you, Jacob - I think," O'Neill's eyebrows knitted together in a worried expression, although his mouth twitched into a smile.

"My congratulations, also, Jack," Kate added "and this promotion is richly deserved. You are doing great work here."

"Thanks, Kate," O'Neill replied, and sipped at the beer he was holding.

"Careful, everyone!" Daniel interjected. "We still have to work with him after you all go home. Don't let his head get too swollen!"

"Yeah," said Sam, "We'd hate for him to think he's too good for all that paperwork and start passing it all to our desks!"

"Watch it, Colonel," O'Neill rejoined, and evil glint in his eye. "You may have just given me a dumb idea."

"Ah, but, sir, you only have two days and," she made a show of glancing at her watch," one hour and 23 minutes, and then I'm officially no longer part of your command."

"Carter, I'm hurt! You're so anxious to be out of my command, that you know exactly how much longer..."

His voice suddenly trailed off, and his eyes seemed to open wider as if in surprise. He stared at her a moment and said. "Two days, and?"

Carter laughed, somewhat nervously, it seemed to Kate, "One hour and 23 minutes, sir."

Jack stared for a moment more, then seeming to gather himself together, his mouth snapped shut and he smiled a warm smile. "Yes, well, that will be a momentous ...moment, won't it?"

Carter laughed again, saying, "Don't worry, General. As you know, my new post will require me to visit the SGC, from time to time." She leaned toward Kate and said conspiratorially, " I know General O'Neill just loves technology briefings."

Watching O'Neill, it seemed to Kate as if he were having a difficult time keeping his composure - almost as if, for some reason, he was just now finding out that she was transferring.

"You did sign her transfer, didn't you Jack?" Kate asked quizzically.

"Ah, that would be a yes. But, ah, I think that maybe it won't be quite so bad as I thought..."

Kate opened her mouth to reply, but she suddenly felt a hand grip her arm. Looking to her side, she saw it was Daniel Jackson.

"Come on now, Kate, let's say 'hi' to Thor, and there's someone else I'm sure you'd love to meet."

She turned back to excuse herself, catching a brief glimpse of O'Neill and Carter sharing a laugh, while Jacob stood by with his hands on hips, but Daniel was already whisking her away.

Thor was standing near the bar, sniffing and dubiously regarding a glass of beer. Daniel and Kate came to his side.

"Hi, Thor!" greeted Jackson. "You remember General Lippert."

"Greetings, Dr. Jackson, General Lippert. Of course I remember her. All Asgard posses excellent memory skills."

"Oh, I meant...it was just an expression."

Thor made no reply, merely stared at Jackson and blinked slowly.

"How are you enjoying the party?" Kate asked.

"It is quite different than an Asgard gathering. This beverage? O'Neill said it was his favorite. But it smells like human vomitus."

Kate and Daniel exchanged glances. Daniel raised one eyebrow.

"Yes, well, everyone has their own tastes."

"But I will remain here as O'Neill requested. He instructed me to insure you did not partake of more than one."

Kate raised an eyebrow at Daniel, who looked quite uncomfortable and cleared his throat.

"I'm sure Jack didn't mean that quite literally."

"He seemed most sincere in his statement."

"It's okay, Thor, I don't believe I'll be partaking of any beer today," Daniel's speech quickened, and he looked around the room, almost desperately, Kate thought. "Perhaps you should try the white wine. Oh, look, there's Lya. Come on Kate - she's the one I want you to meet. See you later, Thor."

Thor nodded his head briefly, and they were off, Daniel turning away quickly, directing Kate slightly to the right, where the willowy young woman with some sort of forest camo in her hair was speaking to a group of SGC personnel.

Kate found herself approaching the alien woman with the feathered hair. She leaned toward Daniel and whispered, "What's the deal with Mother Nature? The lady with the forest hair?"

"Ah, actually," Daniel stumbled his explanation, "'Mother Nature' would be Oma Desalla..."

Kate shrugged at his response.

"...but that's neither here nor there. No, this is Lya of the Nox. Think, 'one with nature.'"

"One with nature?" Kate lip-synced back to him, and then straightened up as Lya moved closer. "At least the Nox wear clothes," Kate whispered to him. Daniel did a double take look at Kate, then took up the introductions as Lya arrived.

"General Lippert, I'd like to present Lya of the Nox. Lya, this is Major General Kate Lippert."

"Very pleased to meet you," Kate began, extending her hand. Lya took her hand, but rather than shaking it she bowed from the waist, closed her eyes, then looked at Kate as if she were looking through her. "You are a very blessed women, General Lippert."

Kate was a bit taken aback. She paused a beat, then replied, "Yes, yes, I think you are quite correct. And even more so today meeting you."

Lya smiled with a bow, then released Kate's hand and moved away with no further comment.

"That was different," Kate whispered to Daniel, as she watched the willowy woman disappear among the crowd.

"Yes, well, the Nox are a very advanced race," he replied. "I don't know exactly what she meant, but it's a good bet she's right."

Daniel directed Kate along to where some of the generals had congregated. He introduced her to George Hammond, whom Kate liked immediately. They struck up a conversation about life at the Pentagon, where Hammond was now stationed and had been Kate's last duty station. Soon they were engrossed in conversation and didn't notice when Daniel stepped away into the crowd. Eventually Jack O'Neill joined them, and their little group remained, and gradually grew larger, right up until the party started winding down.

As the party was breaking up, Hammond took Jack by the elbow. "I need to leave tonight to get back to Washington. We need to have a private conversation before I leave."

"Yeah, George," O'Neill replied. "We do."

They excused themselves and exited toward O'Neill's office. Kate figured it was a good time to make her exit also, and excused herself to Maynard and Garner, then moved toward the elevator.

_It's been an interesting few months,_ Kate thought to herself as the elevator car jerked and began its ascent. She leaned back against the rear wall, staring absently at the lighted floor numbers as they winked from one to another. _It's been so good to be part of it. Yes, I have been blessed._


End file.
